


Charity Series #3 Trust Me

by BettyHT



Series: Charity [3]
Category: Bonanza
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-06
Updated: 2018-11-06
Packaged: 2019-08-19 18:41:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 22,760
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16540034
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BettyHT/pseuds/BettyHT
Summary: With the Ponderosa in financial difficulties, Adam makes a rash decision to save his father's dream and takes a job that almost turns out to be the worst decision he's ever made. He needs his family, Charity, and friends to save him from it.





	Charity Series #3 Trust Me

Trust Me

Chapter 1

The silence was maddening. Adam had thought for many years that silence would be so pleasant. The snoring of his brother Hoss and the cackling of his brother Little Joe often grated on his nerves. His father's orders issued as if they were boys and not men irritated him beyond his patience causing him to make snide remarks. The constant mooing of cattle and the neighing of horses complaining if their feed troughs were empty in the morning were tiresome after so many years. At first in the drought, everyone had made more noise than usual. Men bickered more and complained more. The cattle and the horses made more noise plaintively issuing their complaints about the lack of water. As the drought had lasted and weeks had turned into months and brown grass in their lower pastures had turned gray before dessicating completely and blowing away with the other dust, noise had diminished. Men were too tired to complain. Cattle and horses were too weak to make noise. Dust was another issue because it was everywhere. It blew into the tiniest cracks and crevices. It got into every pore it seemed and there wasn't enough water to have regular baths. Wiping down with a wet cloth was as good as it got most days.

The cattle were dying slowly. They had taken as many to market as they could, but so had every other rancher driving the prices so low that they almost lost money on the drive. The calves had died first, and they were in danger of losing their seed animals if rain didn't come soon. They had pushed all the cattle they could into their highest pastures and their horses too. The pastures there had sustained them at first but the grass wasn't growing enough to keep the herds fed. They needed rain.

Adam and his brothers hadn't been home in six weeks. They had to let many of the hands go because they couldn't pay them. Even the few hands they had now were getting paid with scrip. Every day they got up and looked to the west hoping to see a dark cloud or even some clouds, and every day they were disappointed. They didn't have the cash to pay the teamsters they needed to hire to move the logs so their logging operations had slowed as well. Adam guessed that their father was at home trying to get loans for the payments on debts that they had. It was worse than he guessed. He, Hoss, and Little Joe had pulled straws to see who got to go home for a night. They had played it fair, and Hoss had won. He came back with very bad news.

"Pa says the bank won't give us a loan. He's been to Carson, and wired banks all over. No bank in the whole region will give us a loan. They all say it's too risky. Cause they're all branch banks of bigger banks, there's no point in asking any banks further away."

"Well, we've done all right without cash until now. We'll wait it out. It's got to rain sooner or later, right?" Hoss and Adam looked at Little Joe with more worry than anything. "Well, that's right, isn't it?"

Hoss looked to Adam. "You want to tell him or should I?"

"What did Pa say about it?"

"About what? What do you two know that I don't know?"

"Joe, the taxes are coming due. For us, that's ten thousand dollars. In most years, that's not that much of a problem. This year, we don't have it, and if the bank won't give us a loan, and we can't sell any cattle like we would normally do, then how do we get the money?"

"Well, can't we sell something?" Little Joe looked again from Adam to Hoss. "Can't we sell that silver mine we have?"

"The price of silver has been dropping again. We won't get ten thousand for that mine right now. We would have last year, but not now."

"Well, there must be something we can do." Little Joe thought for a moment. "What happens if we can't come up with the tax money?"

"Then whoever can pay the tax bill can swoop in and take the Ponderosa." Adam almost spit the words out.

"But the Ponderosa is worth a hundred times that at least."

"Ya, it is, little brother, but what Adam is saying is and why he's upset is the banks know that and that's probably why not one of 'em will give us a loan. They're waiting like vultures to swoop in and grab the Ponderosa for pennies on the dollar. They'll grab a bunch of the other ranches too."

"But they don't know anything about ranching."

Adam stood with his fists on his hips. "They'll turn around and sell them hoping that the next buyer gets in financial difficulty too, and they can grab them again. It happens all over the west with ranches and farms alike." Staring out across the Ponderosa that didn't look so beautiful after months of drought, Adam shook his head and sighed before looking down at the ground.

"Adam, there must be something we can do. Hoss, isn't there something we can do. When we work together, we always find a way to work things out. C'mon, we can think of something."

"Adam, what are you thinking?"

Hoss saw the way Adam was standing and knew that his older brother was wrestling with a dilemma. There was something he knew he could do but it was clear that it was also something that he didn't want to do. Joe picked up on Hoss' lead when Adam didn't answer making Hoss regret saying anything because he knew then that Adam wasn't ready to talk about it.

"C'mon, Adam, if there's an answer and you've got it, you need to tell us. Don't keep it to yourself. That's not fair."

Because Adam said nothing, Joe moved toward him and grabbed his shoulder to turn him around. Hoss moved quickly to prevent trouble grabbing Joe and pulling him away.

"Joe, you know Adam will tell us when he's ready. Let him be."

"He needs to tell us now. Pa's down there suffering thinking he's lost the Ponderosa, and Adam stands there with an answer he won't share. It isn't right."

Turning slowly, Adam had that look that scared most men but only seemed to make Joe angrier. "Sometimes there is no right. I'll tell you when I'm ready if I'm ever ready. I've got work to do now and so do you."

Adam stalked off with that stiff legged walk that said more than anything that he was barely keeping his temper in check. Hoss didn't release Joe until Adam was out of sight. Joe turned on Hoss then.

"Why do you always take his side?"

"Joe, there ain't no sides in this. It's a mess, and Adam was struggling with something. It didn't help to have you nipping at him. He'll figure it out and tell us. You know making him mad never gets us anywhere with him. The two of you never talk when you're mad, so cool down and let him cool down. Tonight after supper, when it's dark and time to get some sleep, he'll probably talk then."

"Why then?"

"Cause he'll have had time to think, and if it's as bad as I think it is, he won't want us to see his face when he tells us."

"What could be so bad?"

"I don't know, but from the way he was acting, it was bad. Now like he said, we got work to do. We ought to get to it. Stay away from Adam and let him have the time he needs to wrestle with whatever he's wrestling."

"I'm sorry I went off half-cocked. When I think about how Pa must be feeling thinking about losing what he spent his lifetime building, it makes me lose my head." Joe got a bit of a sheepish look then. "And you know how easily I lose my head. I wanted Adam to come up with a plan so badly that I didn't think about how he was feeling. Don't worry. I won't say anything to him until later. I'll apologize because I know I should. I'll make it right. I always do, don't I?"

"Yeah, but I'm afraid that what Adam's got to tell us ain't gonna make things all right even if it is a plan. He looked right worried about whatever he was thinking. It ain't gonna be good, I can tell you that. Somebody's gonna be in for it with whatever is going through his mind."

"I hope it's not Pa. I don't know how much more he can take right now. How did he look, Hoss? I mean, you know, did he look older, tired, sick?"

"Probably some of all of that. He tried to put a good face on all of it but I could see how worried he was. He told me to tell you two not to worry cause he'd find a way out of this mess, but I could tell he wasn't so sure of that. He told me that Todd McCarren stopped over. I didn't tell Adam cause he don't need no more worries. Charity took a job in town to help them out. I hope we get some rain in the next week. I kinda feel like maybe there's a shift in the air. If there is, maybe we can move some of these cattle."

"That would be nice. Maybe we could go home and sleep in our beds."

"Yeah, I saw Adam rubbing his leg that was wounded too. Maybe it's bothering him cause the weather is going to change."

"Did Pa say his knees hurt? He always says his knees hurt before it rains."

"He didn't mention anything, but he probably wouldn't knowing I was worried about him already. I'm worried about Adam too. He needs to spend some time with Charity. I don't want him to lose her too. There's a dance in town in three weeks. It sure would be nice if Adam could be there to see her. Them two ain't seen each other for at least six weeks. I'd hate for her to find somebody else while she's working in town."

"Adam says they're only friends."

"Yeah, you believe that?"

"No, but I don't know what she's thinking either."

"Well, we got to find a way for the two of them to get together before they lose each other."

"Right now we better get to work or our older brother is gonna find a way to blister our backsides with a few choice words if you know what I mean."

The three brothers finished their work for the day and had their usual meal of beef. Joe made his apology, but there wasn't much conversation before the three rolled out their bedrolls. Adam had been mostly silent until then but decided it was time to tell his brothers what he had decided to do. He didn't expect them to like his decision.

"I'm going to get the money for the taxes." That got the attention of Hoss and Little Joe immediately. "I'm going to go work for Mann." Hoss was shocked into disbelief and silence.

Little Joe exploded in anger. "You can't! Pa detests that man. He hates what he's done. Until they outlawed it, he used hydraulic mining. Now his mine has more accidents and deaths than all the other mines in the Comstock combined. He pays the lowest wages and treats the men who work there like an expense instead of like people. Pa's done everything he can to try to get him out of here, and you're going to help him? I can't believe you would do that to Pa!"

"It will get the money to save the Ponderosa."

Hoss found his voice. "Adam how long will it take to get the money?"

"A day or two. All I have to do is agree to work for him. He's been pestering me for a long time to work for him. Every time I see him, he offers me the same position. He keeps offering bonuses to sign on. I could get the whole amount by agreeing to work for him."

"For how long?" Hoss hoped it wouldn't be long. He was disappointed.

"I'm not sure but probably six months to a year."

"It would kill Pa to have you do that." Hoss knew their father would be upset by the action but even more upset to see his son continue to work for the man for that length of time.

"It would kill Pa to lose the Ponderosa too. If we keep the ranch, we can help some of the other ranchers keep theirs. Otherwise, we could all go under. Do you want to see that?"

"Don't you want to talk it over with Pa?" Hoss was trying to reconcile himself to the idea but was finding it difficult.

Little Joe listened to them talk and couldn't think of anything more to say.

"No because I know what he'll say. Hoss, I have to do this. It's the only way, and maybe I can do some good in the Mann mine. Maybe I can help those miners. It can't get any worse, can it?"

"It's not a good thing, but I can't see any other way to go either. I guess it's your decision."

"Hoss, how can you say that? He's going to work for the enemy."

"No, it ain't quite that bad, Joe. It's more like jumping into the manure pile to escape the burning barn. The problem for Adam is, he's gonna be stuck in that manure pile for a long time."

"I could use your help when I tell Pa what I'm going to do, but I'll understand if you don't want to be there. Think on it until tomorrow. I'm riding in at first light to tell him what I'm going to do. These cows aren't going anywhere for a few hours."

In the morning, there were no words spoken except for basic things that had to be said to get necessary chores completed, but after a light breakfast, all three saddled their horses. Adam didn't know what his brothers had decided until all three mounted up. As he turned to ride toward home, his brothers wheeled their horses to ride beside him. He nodded and tipped his hat in thanks. No one had to say anything else. It was understood.

Chapter 2

The proposal from Adam was met with derision and hostility from his father who told Adam under no terms was he allowed to do such a thing. "It is disreputable and beneath you. It would dishonor all that you stand for and all that our family stands for. We believe in honesty and integrity, and Mann believes in nothing except making more money regardless of the human cost. I don't know how you can even consider such a ridiculous idea."

"It is not ridiculous. It may be between Scylla and Charybdis but it is my choice."

"Adam don't do this. We can find another way."

"What way? Lose the Ponderosa and watch all of our neighbors lose their ranches too? That's not another way. That's giving up. Pa, maybe I can do some good with Mann. It certainly can't be any worse."

"It can't be any worse, but the blood of innocent men could be on your hands. Can you live with that? I couldn't. I don't know how a son of mine could accept that. Men will die in that mine while you work there. Work you send men to do will lead to their deaths. How will you reconcile that with us saving the ranch? How will a ranch compare to lives? You can't be a son of mine and think like that. I don't know what kind of crazy ideas are in your head to think that you could do this."

"It's not a crazy idea. It's a logical solution to a problem that none of us created."

"Respect for each other and respect for other people is what's logical. Respect for the gifts that God has given us is logical. Not doing any damage to those gifts is logical. What you're doing is the opposite of that so it's crazy. You are not to do this. I won't have any part of such crazy ideas."

"Maybe if you had listened to some of my so-called crazy ideas for the ranch, we wouldn't be in this position now. I told you two years ago that we needed a better cash flow and you wouldn't accept any of my ideas. Now look where we sit. That was what is ridiculous. Not being willing to accept change that would guarantee the future of this ranch is what is ridiculous."

"So you would have us make windows and doors and shingles and siding? That's not the dream that brought me out here."

"Dreams can change, and you didn't have three sons who might have their own dreams when you came out here either. Now all of that is at risk because you won't consider change. Well I'll save your dream this time, but in the future, you better be ready to save it yourself."

"Adam, I don't want you to do this."

"I made my decision. I'm doing it. It's what has to be done whether you see it or not."

Picking up his hat from the credenza, Adam turned and left the house then before anything more was said. Hoss and Little Joe had never been able to say a word. Their father turned to them.

"Did you know your brother was going to do this ridiculous thing?" When Hoss and Little Joe nodded, Ben's anger only seemed to increase. "And you didn't talk him out of it? What is going on with my sons? Have all three of you lost your senses?" Ben dropped his head then and rubbed his forehead as if he was in pain.

Hoss looked at Joe and whispered a question before he asked his father the same question. "Pa, what did you mean about making windows, shingles, doors, and siding? What was that all about?"

"Oh, Adam has been talking to me the last two years about putting in a lumber operation where we would start making those things. He said we would make better use of our timber that way and make more money from it. He said Joe could be in charge of the horses we need to haul everything and even had you, Hoss, in charge of hauling everything to cities around here. I have told him over and over that we're ranchers not carpenters or teamsters. He never wants to listen to me."

Suddenly Little Joe perked up. "He wanted me in charge of the horses."

Equally interested, Hoss liked being in charge of something but he also wondered why Adam had proposed such an enterprise. "Pa, why would Adam want us to do something like that? Now I know we're ranchers and all, but I got to tell you, I'm interested as much as Little Joe is, but I'm curious too as to why Adam is so all fired up about something that sounds, well, kind of ordinary."

"He wants it because it could operate every day of the year and bring in money every month of the year. He says that cattle drives in the spring and the fall, and the timber that is dependent on big contracts are unreliable sources of income, and that we need to have something that provides a steady flow of cash to keep us from running into situations where we have to get a loan to cover our payments."

"You mean like now?"

"Well, yes, like now."

"So, maybe it woulda been a good idea to do like he said. I know it's too late now, but maybe we oughta talk about this more and not just you and Adam but me and Little Joe too."

Hoss did not often defy his father, but when it was important and he thought his father had made a mistake, he would stand up and let him know it. He was doing that now. His father heard the challenge and wasn't sure how to respond. He waited to see how Little Joe reacted because he could often change his brother's opinion. It was quiet for a few minutes.

"Pa, I think that Hoss has a good point. Why don't we talk about it more? I mean, we don't have to do it necessarily, but it sounds like something we ought to discuss with all of us."

To try to reduce the tension in the room, Hoss had another question. "Pa, what two women was Adam talking about before, you know, them two women he said it was like being between?"

"Oh, not two women but two hazards at sea. It was between Sicily and Italy, a rocky shoal and a whirlpool. In legend, it was between a six-headed sea monster and a whirlpool. Ships went too close to the monster preferring to lose a few sailors rather than too close to the whirlpool and lose the whole ship and crew."

Frowning Hoss thought only a moment before responding. "So Adam is like losing the few sailors to the monster and we're the rest of the ship and crew who get saved cause of what he done?" Hoss looked to his father with that look that said more than anything that he knew he was correct.

Somewhat shocked at how well the analogy fit the situation, Ben had nothing to say as he mulled over all that had happened. When he was ready to talk again, it was in a much more subdued voice. "I handled that rather badly didn't I?" Ben shook his head. "I like to complain about my sons and their tempers and how they should use their heads and think before they speak, but they come by that trait honestly. I have shown them time and again exactly how not to do things."

Little Joe looked up from where he had sat on the settee. "Pa, I've found it's never too late to say you're sorry."

"I'm afraid that I said some very hurtful things. But I think that I need to let Adam cool down before I try to talk with him again."

"Will you talk with him about the building supplies idea?" Hoss sounded hopeful.

"Not you too?"

"Why not? I'm interested. Joe's interested. It sounds like a good idea. What's the harm in all of us talking about it?"

Ben had no answer to that, but they all knew. He had made another mistake. He had quite a lot to think about before he saw Adam again and at the heart of it was the nature of the Ponderosa. He had envisioned a pristine place of trees and cattle and horses. Perhaps his son's view of a multifaceted business enterprise nestled among those trees and cattle and horses was more realistic if he wanted his dream to survive. This current crisis had pounded that point home in favor of Adam's argument.

"I guess when I see Adam, I'll tell him I'm ready to listen." Looking at the hopeful faces of his younger sons, Ben added an amendment. "I'll tell him I'm ready to listen to all of his ideas. I have a lot to tell him and I have an apology to give too. I only hope that he doesn't get too hurt by what he has to do. Mann is rotten. He's going to do his best to bring Adam into his way of doing things. Adam is going to have a difficult time with that."

Then Hoss remembered that he had not given Adam the information he had about Charity. He berated himself silently knowing that Adam was going to react badly to that news and have an even more difficult time.

On the way to see Morris Mann, owner of the Mann Mine and one of the most disreputable businessmen in the area, Adam took a detour to the McCarren ranch hoping to see Charity but at least being able to leave her a message if he could not. He rode in and saw Todd working at the corral fence. Todd hailed him.

"If you came to see Charity, she's in town working today."

"Working?"

"Didn't your father tell you? Charity took a job in town. I hated to see her do it, but she wanted to help out, and it is a big help to have some cash coming in even if it isn't much. It helps keep food on the table without adding any debt. Virginia wanted to do the same, but I wouldn't let her with the baby due in a couple of months and all. She needs to be at home."

Inwardly, Adam cringed knowing how Charity must have felt having to put herself in that vulnerable position again. He was upset too because his father had not told him about it not knowing that Ben had assumed that Hoss had told him. "I came by to tell Charity that it could be even longer before I get a chance to see her much. I have to take a job too so we can pay the taxes on the Ponderosa."

"Wow, what kind of job can you take to pay that kind of tax bill?"

With a slight pause because he guessed the reaction was going to be negative, Adam stated it as calmly as he could. "I'm going to accept a job offer from Morris Mann."

Todd's mouth literally dropped open before his face turned into a glare. "Adam, you can't. He nearly ruined my ranch with that water rights issue. If your father hadn't helped me and Pa, he would have diverted all the water from half of our ranch and polluted most of the rest with his hydraulic mining. Pa and I were so grateful for you father's help. How can you do this?"

"Todd, sometimes there is no good choice. It's the lesser of the evils out there. The other choice is to let my father lose the Ponderosa, and if that happens, the other ranchers go down with him. I have to do it."

"Adam, I think it's going to rain. There are clouds over the mountains today. Things are going to get better soon."

"I think you're right. Hoss said the same thing, but it's too late. Rain won't get us ten thousand dollars in two weeks and the tax bill is coming due. Todd, please tell Charity and try to get her to understand. I have to do this."

"I'll talk to her, Adam, and I'll do my best to get her to understand, but it's going to be hard because I don't quite understand it all myself. I couldn't do it. I don't know how you can."

"I think I'll be asking myself that question every day and every night for the rest of my life." Adam turned and rode out then as Todd silently wished him luck and prayed for him. He knew Adam was going to need a lot of both.

As Adam rode to town, he thought about stopping to see Charity but Todd had not said where she was working. He knew too that if he saw one more person who was important to him and heard again that he was making the wrong decision that he might back out of it. He couldn't allow himself to back out now. It was perhaps the most difficult thing he had ever done. It went against his sense of ethics and every lesson of morality he had ever been taught. It hurt his pride. He knew it hurt his family and that it would damage the respect that his family had always had in the area. For all their critics who said the Cartwrights would do anything for money, it would be the evidence they needed to pour vitriol on them for years. Their friends would come to understand it when they had time to assess the reasons for it, but he knew they would never look at him the same way again, and what hurt the most was that he wasn't sure if Charity would ever look at him the same way again. He worried about that the most because he had come to realize while he was up there on those high pastures that he missed her terribly. He knew then that he had fallen in love and believed that she loved him too. This would test that love, and he could only hope it would be strong enough. It was a new love so he had great trepidation that it might not survive his actions. Then he was there. The sign was big and ostentatious. Mann Mine. Morris Mann, owner of Mann Enterprises. He dismounted, sighed, and walked up to the office door.

Chapter 3

Morris Mann could not have been more pleased to walk down the streets of Virginia City with Adam Cartwright at his side. At every opportunity, he stopped and talked to people introducing Adam as his new mining engineer and assistant. They were on their way to the bank to get the money to pay Adam's bonus. It would validate the contract that Adam had signed pledging himself to finishing the shoring of the Mann mines over the next six months in all the new tunnels to be dug as well as supervising the crews maintaining the shoring in the old tunnels and creating a new transportation system for moving the ore out of the mine more efficiently. Four previous engineers had quit on Mann and two in just the previous two months leaving partially finished plans and stacks of materials waiting in the sun because no one knew for what purpose they were to be used. Mann always insisted on the cheapest materials available to complete a project so he couldn't usually sell materials ordered and not used. It irritated him to see those unused materials sitting there. He couldn't attract the more highly qualified mining engineers either with the reputation he had and the safety record of his mine so the work they did was questionable at best. He didn't mind if it meant the loss of workers' lives or if workers were injured but all too often his mine had to shut down for repairs and to open up shafts closed by extensive cave-ins. He wanted Adam Cartwright to fix those problems. The problems with ventilation and flooding were not much of a concern to him because the gases could be pumped out in a day as could excess water usually. That miners suffocated or drowned was of little concern to him. He didn't spend money on ice as most other mines did. His miners had to work in the heat or lose wages. Heat exhaustion was another problem especially exacerbated by the lack of adequate ventilation. Adam wasn't aware of all of that yet because Mann had only told him of the issues with the tunnel collapses.

There were additional reasons for Morris Mann to want Adam working for him. He needed to get loans from the banks to expand his operations. They were reluctant to deal with him, but he assumed that having Adam Cartwright working for him would open up some doors for him with those banks. He thought to that it didn't hurt his social standing to have Adam as his assistant. What he didn't realize was that Adam's social standing was taking a hit instead of raising his. The looks they got as they walked away from each encounter that day would have frozen a penguin, and most of the stares were aimed at Adam who mostly remained stoic and silent throughout. Once Adam had the cash, he put the money in his family's account assuming that his father would see the sense of using it to pay the tax bill. He had done what he could and now he would pay the consequences for it.

As Mann and Adam left the bank, they noticed that the sky had grown very dark. Mann told Adam to put his horse in the livery stable and get a room at the hotel so they could meet that evening to go over his duties and the plans for the mine. Mann had a small office in town and told him to meet him there after dinner but amended that to tell him to meet him at the restaurant next to the office for dinner first. They would discuss the job at dinner and then go over the plans in the office. As Mann walked away, Adam stood staring after him wondering how he could possibly manage to work for him for six months without strangling him or shooting him.

"Wishing you had shot him instead of agreeing to dinner?" Charity was behind him and had heard the last part of the conversation Adam had with Mann.

"You are quiet. I had no idea you were there."

"I can be quiet. So can you. It's been very quiet for a month and a half without you, and then I hear you're in town and you have the whole town buzzing, but it's not a good buzz. It seems that a lot of people are already thinking the very worst of you."

Looking down at the ground with the pain of that, Adam sighed. He had known it would happen, but hearing that it had happened didn't make it any easier. He looked up at Charity. "And what do you think?"

"Adam Cartwright, don't you dare insult me in the first conversation we have had after all this time apart. I know you have good reasons for anything you do. I trust you."

Finding it difficult to speak, Adam raised his hand and tucked a stray lock of hair back behind Charity's ear. "Thank you. You have more faith in me than anyone has had."

"Oh, no, your family didn't back you? Hoss?"

"No, Hoss was good. He had a few questions, no more."

"I expected Hoss to support you. He's smart about things and how things have to go sometimes."

"Not everyone understands that Hoss is very smart."

"Maybe it's that aw shucks way he has about him but behind those beautiful blue eyes is a sharp mind for figuring out what needs to be figured out. But I suppose your father was angry. He seems to get angry whenever anyone has an idea that he didn't think of first. It takes him a while to come around, but he will. He's a romantic and wants it all to be so perfect."

"Yes, you would think after all that's happened to him in his life that he wouldn't be, but he is a romantic." Adam was still hurt in some ways by some of what had been said but did understand why his father had reacted the way that he had. "I don't think you're being fair to my father though. He isn't that self-centered. He wants to believe there's good in every man. He wants to believe that given the chance, people will do the right thing. I shouldn't have dropped this on him as a decision without letting him have input either. I lost my temper too probably because I anticipated his reaction and I was ready to be angry before I even told him what I was thinking of doing."

"So when he objected, your stubborn side took over and so did his."

"That probably about sums it up. Sometimes the two of us are like rams locking horns. There are still two weeks before the taxes are due. Maybe there was some desperate move we could have made."

"But unlikely."

"Probably only a miracle."

"But you got on your white steed and decided to sacrifice yourself without finding that out first."

"I hope that isn't what's going to happen, but I think perhaps my father believes that's the case. I hope that I can do some good at the Mann Mine."

"I hope you can. Those men can use a champion. Now I suppose Joe got mad and railed at you and then he apologized. I remember him from school. He was always like that. I doubt he will ever change. He reacts from the heart first and then thinks about it afterwards especially after someone else points a few things out to him."

"You know my family fairly well."

"I know you very well too, and I know how painful this must be for you. I want you to know that you should come to me to talk or just for a shoulder to lean on if you need one. We're friends, right?"

"Yes, and maybe more?"

"Yes, and definitely more. We should talk about that sometime too."

"There's a dance in three weeks. I'm going to be very busy for a while, but how about that dance. I'll take you to dinner and the dance and we'll find some time to talk. Maybe we can go to church on Sunday mornings too if Mann will give me Sundays off."

"He might not?"

"I find out my duties this evening. I signed on for six months. He owns my labor for that time so I don't know what days I'll be working. I can assume Sundays are open because his mine shuts down as do the others, but I don't know. Now you're working too. How is that going?"

Adam looked so worried that Charity knew that she had to reassure him quickly. He didn't need any more worries. "I'm working for Doctor Martin part-time or as needed. He's taught me how to do some simple procedures such as cleaning and stitching a simple cut. I clean up and sanitize the surgery too. Then I copy documents for Hiram Wood. He no longer has a full-time clerk. I work there as needed too. It works out well for me and for them, I think. Both pay me a decent wage especially for a woman. Hiram pays me the same wage he was paying the man who worked for him as a clerk."

"So you have no worries about working in town?"

"Only the ride in and the ride back home. I was thinking of taking a room in town but that would take most of the money I'm earning so it's not a good solution. I try to get home early enough so that no one worries."

"Am I keeping you then?"

"No, not yet. I have a few errands to run before I go home. Do you have time to walk with me before you have to go to dinner with Mann?"

"I have time. Thank you. It will be the pleasant memory I can use to remember whenever I can't stand being with him. I was in his office no more than fifteen minutes, and I wanted to strangle the man."

"I can understand that. Perhaps we can discuss all the ways you could eliminate him. It could be entertaining."

"Sweetheart, you have a wicked sense of humor."

Smiling sweetly, inside Charity was elated. Adam had called her sweetheart. It was the first time he had used a form of endearment like that with her. He offered his arm and they were off to the general store to pick up some basic supplies for Doctor Martin's office. Once those were delivered, Charity did have to go. Adam told her to put on her slicker because it looked like rain was on the way. She grinned at that but noted that he was not smiling.

"I wish it would have happened a month ago. It could have made a difference."

"Adam, you'll find a way to make this work. I know you will. I trust you."

It was the second time she had told him that. She could not have told him anything else except that she loved him that would have made him feel better at that point. It wasn't the right setting for her to declare her love, but saying that she trusted him despite knowing what he was doing meant a great deal to him. "Thank you. Talking with you helped me more than you can know. If it is at all possible, I will see you at church on Sunday. If I am not there, know that it couldn't be helped."

"I'll be praying that I see you on Sunday. Otherwise, you know where I am from Monday through Friday. I'll be in Doctor Martin's office or Mister Wood's office."

"Good, now be on your way so you can get home before it's storming."

It did start raining by the time that Adam met Mann at the restaurant. Adam thought it was so ironic that the rain they had been desperate to get would start on the evening when he met with the man most people in town thought of as the devil himself. He found that he had a harsh taskmaster too. He was expected to work ten hours per day from Monday through Saturday. On Sunday, he was to show Mann the progress that he had made during the week. He asked if he could attend church services, and Mann said that he liked to get the inspection done in the morning so he could attend church if the inspection was completed early enough and they would start at eight. Adam had a sinking feeling that he wouldn't be attending any church services anytime soon. Mann did say that he had Sunday afternoons to himself as long as the inspection showed no problems and there was no other work that had to be done. He was expected to be on site even when he wasn't working in case there was a problem because he would be called in to advise those who encountered any difficulties. There was a small bedroom attached to the office. That would be his for six months. He had not brought clothing and personal items with him so he had to make a trip home for that. He told Mann that and the man acted as if he was a generous employer by giving Adam two hours the next morning to get his things. Adam knew he would have to leave by dawn to get back by eight to work. After dinner, Mann got his carriage and took the two of them to the office to show him the plans that had been drawn by previous engineers for additional tunnels and for a new ore transport system.

"You'll finish those and implement them. You can't quit. I own you for six months and I'm going to get my money's worth out of you."

Adam had to admit that he felt owned. He felt smaller and less significant than he had felt in many years. He had gotten used to being respected by others and having the ability to make a difference. That wasn't likely to be true for quite some time if ever again. The one bright spot was that Charity had said she trusted him to find a way to make something good out of this. That night as he lay on the bed trying to fall asleep, he thought he would have to be an medieval alchemist to make something good out of this mess. He had seen the plans that had been drawn and the list of materials that had already been ordered and delivered. His father's warnings echoed in his mind as he envisioned what could happen if he had to finish those plans as they were started and use those materials as they were supposed to be according to the plans drafted by the previous engineers and by the notes they had made. But he had no conception of how he could do anything differently than what had been laid out for him the night before by Mann yet his conscience and his very soul depended on finding a way out of the abyss he felt he was in at that moment. He still believed he could see a light at the top but as of yet he couldn't visualize what it was in any concrete terms. Until he did, there was no way out.

Chapter 4

The next morning, Adam rode out very early to get his things from home. He wasn't looking forward to the confrontation he expected to have with his father and could only hope it would be brief. He had to be back and ready to work by eight. Even heading out at the first hint of light that allowed him to follow the road would give him barely enough time to do what he had to do. He had slept fitfully for a few hours and already would face his first day of work tired. He hoped he would not also be in a foul mood. When he arrived at the Ponderosa, he was surprised to see Buck saddled and ready to go. Before he could even dismount, his father walked from the house with a valise and saddlebags. The two men were surprised to see each other.

"Adam, I was going to ride to town with things for you. I realized you left without things you would need. I wanted to see you."

"Thank you, but I have to be back by eight. Mann was gracious enough to give me time to get some things but I have to work until six so I wouldn't have much time nor the energy to get my things this evening."

"I want to say a few things."

"Pa, I really have to get going."

"It won't take long. I've been rehearsing since yesterday. I was wrong in how I reacted to you. I'm sorry. I've been under so much pressure, and I unfairly took it out on you. I should have listened to what you had to say and then perhaps we could have talked it over. I know that because of how I reacted, there was no chance to talk. Hoss let me know that. The idea you had about a wood products business never interested me but apparently does interest your brothers. We'll talk about that when we get a chance. And about your working for Morris Mann: maybe you can do some good there. I'd like to talk to you about that too. Maybe we can talk after church on Sunday?"

Surprised at almost everything that his father had said, Adam didn't want to disappoint him but had to be honest. "Thank you. I'm sorry I lost my temper too. But I don't know if I'll be at church on Sunday. Apparently Sunday morning at eight is when Morris likes to do an inspection of his mine. If we can get through it fast enough and he doesn't find anything for me to do, then I'll get to church. Charity will be there too. I hope you'll have her sit with the family."

"Sit with the family? Has something changed there?"

"Not yet, but I hope that it will. That's something else that I need time for and may not get it. Pa, would you like to ride with me? We might be able to talk a little on the way."

"Son, I'd like that a lot even if we only talk a little."

"The money is in the bank if you want to see about paying the taxes."

"Thank you. You've done our family a great service. I only hope the price you pay isn't going to be too high."

"Charity says that I ought to find a way to make things better at the Mann Mine. If I could, then it would be worthwhile and not an awful thing. I didn't get much sleep last night thinking about it."

"Any ideas?"

"None."

"If anyone can think of something to make things better there, you can. I trust you."

Surprised by that, Adam almost pulled his horse to a stop. Those were the words he needed to hear most, and to hear them at this point in time was a big boost to his mood. By the time he got to the mine office, he was fortified by his father's confidence in him. He guessed it wouldn't be enough to offset everything he would have to endure, but it certainly was a big help. He bid his father goodbye and headed inside the office just before eight dropping the valise and saddlebags in the bedroom that would be his quarters for six months. Then he began looking at the plans and paperwork stacked on the desk. That would be a big part of his life too. He had thought that his days would be spent drawing plans for the first few weeks but instead he was in the mine repeatedly working out fixes for shoring that was failing. The men were not grateful. The shoring threatened to collapse in too many places for them to be grateful for him fixing the ones that the crew leaders knew were on the verge of dropping on their heads. All too often, Adam found himself sloshing around ankle deep in water too. The first time he had asked the logical question.

"Are the sump shafts full?"

"What sump shafts?"

That exchange had shocked him. The first inspection of the mine had revealed that Morris Mann had never spent any money on having sump shafts drilled. Furthermore, the ventilation shafts, where they existed at all, were much too small and relied on natural airflow to work which was completely inefficient. Adam suspected that gases were collecting in some of the side tunnels but had no way of testing for it. An explosion or deaths of miners by suffocation would likely be the first evidence that his suspicions were correct. With everything that called him away from the office during the day, he didn't get much time to work on the drawings for the new tunnel and the new ore transport system.

"You're supposed to have these drawings done by the end of the month so that you can begin to dig that new tunnel and then put in the transport system. At this rate, you won't even have the drawings done by the time the six months is up. I'll take you to court to get my bonus back if you don't come through with the things I told you I wanted you to do."

"I can't do the drawings because I have to go to the mine so much to fix the problems that are there in the old shoring."

"You have your evenings. You need to spend those working on these drawings then."

"I have been, but it's difficult when I work twelve hours or more and don't even have a chance to eat lunch most days."

"I'll have meals delivered to you, and I'll have some lamps brought here to give you good light so you can work later. I expect to see some progress on these drawings by Monday."

"I planned to go to the dance on Saturday night. I haven't taken any time away from this mine in nearly three weeks. I haven't even been able to attend church."

"Then you better do a better job of getting your work done. Until I see better results, you aren't getting any time off. You're under contract and it's an ironclad contract. I'm sure that you know that." With a sneer, Morris Mann strutted from the office having put Adam Cartwright in his place. It felt good to him. For nearly three weeks, he had enjoyed his nearly daily efforts to lord it over his employee. In town, he did his best to remind anyone who would listen that Adam Cartwright was doing his bidding and couldn't even complain about it. He smiled as he climbed into his carriage for the ride back to his office in town. He guessed that that pretty young Keith woman was going to be waiting for Adam at the dance. He wouldn't be there so perhaps she might be interested in having a dance with him. He was wealthy and available, and at the moment, far superior to Adam Cartwright or so he thought.

The next day, there was a minor collapse in a side tunnel. Adam went in to assess the damage as one of the miners was being brought out. The man had a broken leg and wouldn't be able to work for months so his family would have no means of support. The men carrying him and helping the other injured miners shoved Adam out of the way far more forcefully than necessary. He slammed into the wall of the mine and was stunned for a moment but heard clearly the warning that was issued.

"You want to know why them other engineers quit? We told them the next miner who died would have company. You fix these tunnels or you join the next man who dies. You hear us? You're in charge. It's up to you to do something."

Sitting against the wall as the men passed by him, Adam endured their hostile looks without replying in any way. Once they were outside, he stood and gingerly rubbed his sore shoulder. "Well, sleep is highly overrated I suppose especially when compared to staying alive. But I wonder what Mann will say when all those stacks of supplies out there start to diminish." He didn't actually wonder. He knew what the reaction would be. For nearly a week, he directed the men in a program of reinforcing the shoring in the main tunnel especially and in some of the side tunnels that looked vulnerable. He began to set up a system similar to the honeycomb system although it was built in place instead of built outside and then installed. In function, it should work about the same or so he hoped. He made some plans for sump shafts too marking where they should go. He spent his evenings until late into the night working on the drawings so that Mann had no idea of his minor rebellion. It wasn't until the following Sunday with was almost ten days into his new system that Mann noticed the diminished stacks of supplies.

"The shoring in the main tunnel was nearing collapse in some spots. I had the men reinforce it."

"Oh, all right. I can't afford a collapse. Anything that stops ore going to the mill is a problem for me. You're doing a better job on those drawings. Keep going just like that and maybe you'll get a day off soon."

Mann laughed then but without mirth. It was a mocking laugh, the one that always made Adam want to strangle the man. Adam had missed the dance and had not seen his family nor Charity in over a month. Mann had kept his word and sent meals but most often they were beans and bread, another mockery that Mann must have enjoyed immensely. Most of the time Adam ate only a little of the beans but at least the bread was good. He longed for a decent meal but literally had no idea of when he would ever get one again.

Two weeks later, on the Sunday inspection, Mann couldn't be fooled any longer. He saw the extensive work on the shoring that had been done. It could no longer be camouflaged as repairs. He whirled on Adam as he saw that a whole new system was being installed.

"You tricked me. This is one of those damn honeycomb systems. It's expensive."

"I only used the materials that were outside rotting in the sun anyway. The wood would have been too dry for the new tunnel by the time you started digging it anyway. This shoring will hold and will be safe for a new transport system. Even the vibration of rail cars won't matter."

"It better work. You're trying my patience. If you weren't making progress on those drawings, I'd take you to court right now and sue you for that bonus. Your family wouldn't have the money and they'd lose the Ponderosa. You remember that. I saved the Ponderosa. Not you. Me! Everyone in town knows it. You had to come running to me for help to save your precious ranch. What would people think if you didn't keep your word to me now after I helped you out? Huh? What about your precious reputation then?"

Adam wanted to argue with him. He wanted to say that none of that was true, but the sick truth of it was there. He had come to Mann to save the Ponderosa and everyone in town probably did know that. He had to do something more than he already had to wipe that stain from him and from his family. He didn't know what it was, but he had to think of something. As Mann walked away again strutting like a peacock, he berated himself as he had done for weeks. Think, man, think. You're good at planning and coming up with ideas. Everyone says so. Well now is the time to do it. It's not a good time for the well to run dry.

On the Ponderosa, Adam's family was worried about him. He was so close yet so far away because they hadn't seen him nor heard from him since he had started working for Mann. They hoped to see him at church every Sunday, and each time they were disappointed. Hoss and Joe had been sure that he would be at the dance but he wasn't. Each of them had danced with the very disappointed Charity who was as concerned as they were about Adam's isolation while in Mann's employ. On a Saturday, Hoss decided to do something about it.

"Pa, I'm going to take the carriage and a big picnic basket full of Hop Sing's good food, and I'm gonna go pick up Miss Charity, and we're gonna go see Adam."

"Hoss, do you think Mann will allow that?"

"The Toad don't go to the mine on Saturday afternoon."

"The Toad?"

"Oh, Charity started calling him that at the dance. He come up to ask her for a dance a couple of times. She said each time his used his tongue to keep wetting his lips. She called him the toad cause of that and well cause he kinda looks like a toad with that hunched over look and he's kinda lumpy looking and all."

"Charity does have a wicked sense of humor."

"She does. She's a good match for Adam, and I bet she wants to see him as much as we do. So, that's what I'm gonna do."

"That sounds like a good idea, Hoss. I wish I had thought of it first."

"Pa, maybe we ought to do this kind of thing more. He's gotta be feeling lonely and awful stuck there all this time. I know we been busy and all, and we kept thinking we'd see him at church or somewhere, but this has gone on way too long. Mann is doing his best to break his spirit, I think. Toad is a nasty piece of work."

Hop Sing had a basket ready by the time Hoss got to the kitchen. As usual he seemed to know what was going on in the house without anyone telling him. Hoss headed to the stable to hitch up the carriage and drove to the McCarren ranch to ask Charity to ride with him to the Mann Mine. That took about ten seconds to get her agreement and a minute until she got her shawl. The two of them arrived at the Mine by the middle of the afternoon and pulled up in front of the office as the shift was nearing its end. The men would go home and not return until Monday morning. No one was in the office so they waited. As the men came from the mine, neither Hoss nor Charity recognized Adam until he was right beside them. Charity gasped. Adam was thin with dark circles under his eyes and sunken cheeks. It was clear that he had not had enough to eat and had not had enough rest for quite some time. He smiled a wan smile. Hoss was almost afraid to slap him on the shoulder, but Adam gave him a hearty slap. He was strong even if he looked ill.

"It's not so bad. I'm exhausted not dying. Come on in, and if that's Hop Sing's cooking, I may kiss both of you."

Hoss pushed him when he said that but Charity thought it was an excellent idea except for one thing that Hoss eventually mentioned.

"Adam, when was the last time you had a bath?"

"Sadly, there is no place to take a bath here. I put some buckets outside to catch rainwater, and the well provides a good supply of cold water, but there's no place to bathe. I do what I can, but as you can tell, it's not enough. If Mann is trying to break me, that is one of the things that is having the greatest effect. That and eating beans every day is wearing me down. I never was a fan of beans, and a constant diet of them is not conducive to eating regularly."

Charity touched his cheek softly. "You're not getting much sleep either. I can tell how tired you are."

"Perhaps it is dreaming of you that's keeping me from sleeping soundly."

Hoss coughed. "I'm right here, you know." Hoss laughed then at the sheepish look he got from the two of them. "Hey, Charity, tell him about the dance and Toad."

Chapter 5

For a few hours, Adam got to relax and laugh. He enjoyed how Charity poked fun at Mann and her description of him at the dance and her reasons for calling him the Toad had him chuckling long after she and Hoss had departed. They had left the remainder of the food so he had something good to look forward to eating for breakfast and probably for lunch as well. Hoss had promised to deliver more food now that he knew how poorly Mann had been feeding his brother. He had been so apologetic.

"Adam, we been so busy on the ranch, what with you being gone and trying to get things back to normal now that the grass is growing again. I spent near on to three weeks up at the timber camps getting them going at full bore again. Pa spent a lot of the last two weeks working with our lumber mill to get it operating again. A couple of days ago, Joe headed off to a meeting in Sacramento trying to see about a new contract for logs now that we can work again. He's supposed to be back late today. I'm giving him a ride home soon as I leave here. Ifn we had any idea you was hungry, we woulda been here helping you out. Ya know that, dontcha?"

"I know, Hoss. You would think that if Mann wanted more work out of me, he would know that I need to eat more than bread and beans most days. It's the same with the mines. He would get more from this mine if he invested more in it, both in materials and in paying the men. They do what they have to do to keep their jobs and no more. All they want is their pay and to walk out of that mine alive at the end of the day."

"You helping them with that?"

"Well, I can't help with the pay, but I've started installing a honeycomb system of shoring as much as I can, and Mann doesn't know it yet, but I've done some preliminary work on drilling some sump shafts to stop the flooding. I want to do ventilation shafts too, but that's going to be nearly impossible to do without him noticing even if he only enters the mine on Sundays."

Charity wondered about that. "Why only on Sundays?"

Laughing, Hoss offered a hypothesis before Adam could answer. "He's probably afraid the miners would dump him in an empty shaft and bury him if he went in there when they was working."

"That's probably not too far from the truth, Hoss, but he's terrified of cave-ins and other disasters that could occur. The blasting and the gases and flooding as well scare him. He wants to go in when he thinks there isn't any danger of anything happening to him. He wants to see the silver ore and how much progress is being made by the labor of others who risk everything, but he doesn't want to take any risks."

Charity was worried. "Adam, if you work for him and do his bidding, aren't you afraid of what those men might do to you when you're in there with them?"

Pausing before answering because he knew that neither Charity nor Hoss would like his answer, Adam had to be honest. "There were reasons to be concerned at first, but the hostility is less now that they see I'm trying to do what I can to make things better. It's not easy walking that tightrope. I think they're beginning to see the difficult position I'm in."

Frowning, Hoss wondered if he should ask his question with Charity there but if Adam wanted any kind of relationship with her to develop, honesty was needed. "Adam, what's happened? What have they done to you?"

The scowl he got let Hoss know that Adam didn't want that question asked but had to answer it. It took a few moments before he was ready which alerted Charity to the situation as she looked from Hoss to Adam and back again. Hoss nodded and looked to Adam letting her know to wait for his brother to answer.

"A shove to get out of the way that's a little too forceful, an accidental hit with a tool or a piece of wood, or a rock dropped on your foot when it slips out of someone's hand."

"I thought you were limping a little when we you walked out to say howdy."

Charity stepped up beside Adam and placed a hand on his shoulder. "How often?"

"Not so much any more. The hostility isn't as bad, but some of them can't let go of the anger, and if I was being treated like they are, I guess I might have the same problem. Maybe I can win a few more points with them if I tell them the nickname Charity gave him and why."

That at least got a smile from Charity and Hoss, but there wasn't much left to say. Hoss had to get going to pick up Joe at the stage depot, and he had to get Charity home. Hoss left to get the horses watered for the trip and to give Adam and Charity a few moments alone.

"Will you be at church tomorrow?"

"I wish I could, but Mann will be here for another inspection and that usually takes two or three hours. In the shape I'm in, I would scandalize the whole congregation anyway. If I can, maybe I'll get away and jump in the river tomorrow. I have to drop my clothing at the laundry anyway."

"We can do that for you. Adam, I'll come back tomorrow afternoon if you have time for me."

"Sweetheart, I'll make time for you. I'm sorry that it may not be more than a couple of hours. I have these damn drawings to work on. I have to start on the new tunnel this week or Mann will have my hide."

"Try to get some sleep. You look like you haven't had a good night's sleep in weeks."

Pursing his lips, Adam wanted to say it had been months. He only smiled that little crooked half smile and bid her goodbye. As she sat beside Hoss in the carriage, she looked back and saw that Adam was watching them drive away. Then he turned to go back inside the office. She had never seen him look so defeated. Somehow she knew that they had to help lift his spirits so that he could find a way to help the men there and help himself.

The next morning, Adam sweated out the inspection, but Mann again missed seeing the evidence of the preliminary work on the sump shafts. He probably assumed it was part of the preliminary work for the new ore transport system that Adam had promised to start building as soon as the new tunnel work began.

"The new transport system will do double duty at first carrying out debris as well as carrying ore. It will mean a drop in production until we uncover enough of the new veins to start getting the richer ore shipped out. Once that happens though, the profits should increase exponentially wiping out any losses from the months of preliminary work."

"Months? How many months?"

"It's going to take at least the rest of my time here to get all of the system in place and get the new tunnel operational. I've had to start training men on blasting more efficiently as well as how to install shoring properly so that we aren't constantly using time to reinforce or replace it. I'm going to have to send in orders for more timbers and planks too. I've used up almost all of the supplies that were here when I started."

"What? Those were supposed to be for the new tunnel!"

"Yes, and you wanted me to fix the problem with the frequent small cave-ins and collapses you were having. We haven't had one in two weeks so the mine has continued to operate with no downtime. That should tell you that I'm doing the job you told me to do."

"Well, I suppose that's right, but the bottom line is production. I get the figures from the mill this week. If the production has dropped too much, you'll hear from me."

Inwardly, Adam flinched knowing how badly production must have dropped with how he had diverted the men's labor into the projects over the past four weeks. They had worked as hard or harder with him there directing their efforts, but it wasn't going to look like it when the production tallies were handed over to Mann. Adam wasn't sure what the man would do, but he suspected he was going to bear the brunt of whatever reaction it was going to be. Instead of showing any of his worry, he simply nodded and kept that stoic exterior in place. He hoped to have a pleasant interlude that afternoon with Charity because he guessed that the next few weeks were going to be hell.

Once Mann left, Adam got to work on the drawings that he needed to finish and then other plans that he never let Mann see for the sump shafts and ventilation shafts that he intended to install once he had the shoring completed. He drew up lists of materials that he needed and put together an order for timbers and planks, for bolts and nuts, and for any other supplies he thought he would need. He had a lot of paperwork completed when he heard horses and assumed that Charity had arrived. He opened the door to find his family had arrived with her.

"Hello, son. I know you probably thought that you would have short visit with your friend, but she and Hoss decided that you needed more than that. We've brought a bath, clean clothing, clean bedding, a picnic, and some supplies for the week. I hope you don't mind." Ben was shocked by his son's appearance even though Hoss had warned him and Charity had added her own warning to it on the way to the mine. Adam was thin, obviously in need of a haircut as well as a bath, but what bothered Ben the most was that his whole body seemed to indicate a loss of spirit as if Mann was beating him down.

"I didn't get to church again, but if I had, this is what I might have prayed for. Thank you. And welcome to my humble abode."

Hoss and Joe dismounted and moved to the back of the buckboard to pull out a washtub. Hoss pulled a washtub from the wagon as Joe picked up a towel and some soap showing them off to Adam.

"Hop Sing wouldn't let us have his big new one even just to borrow it but he said you could use his old one until you come back home. I'll carry it out back. You can get clean anyway. After yesterday, I know how much you wanted a bath. Now it ain't gonna be a nice hot one, but I bet that won't matter so much to you right now. Miss Charity said she could give your hair a trim once you wash it. Then we're gonna have a nice ole picnic under a tree. How's that?"

"That sounds wonderful."

While Adam followed his brothers behind the office, Ben grabbed a picnic basket and a blanket to set up for the picnic with Charity's help. Then Ben took care of the horses, and Charity volunteered to take clean sheets and a blanket inside to put on Adam's bed. When she got inside, she realized that there were no curtains on the window in the bedroom so there was a clear view of the washtub where Adam was bathing. At first, that wasn't an issue because he was siting in the tub. She admired the strong shoulders and the muscles in his back that were even more well defined after the hard work he had been doing especially after losing weight. Then as she worked, she glanced out the window. Adam had stood up because he was cramped in the small washtub. She gasped and looked away, but couldn't help herself and looked sideways at the view. He had his back to her but his rounded buttocks had soap suds clinging to them. She had never seen a naked man before. She had never seen anyone naked in fact. She realized that her mouth was open and snapped it shut. She couldn't stop herself at first and as she worked at putting the clean sheets on the bed and then laying the clean blanket over them, she continued to look out the window as surreptitiously as she could and each time it was the same magnificent view. Finally her sense of propriety took over again and with one final peek, she left the bedroom and returned to where Ben was sitting on the blanket waiting for the others to finish their tasks. Her face must have been red because he asked her about it.

"Oh, I guess it's a bit warm in the office. The windows are all closed up tight. I suppose Adam doesn't want his papers blowing about."

Ben noted the higher pitch to her voice and suspected there was far more to the story but said nothing about it. Behind the office as soon as Hoss no longer saw a shadow moving in the bedroom, he gave Adam the all clear. He had laughed and told him earlier that he was being observed.

"Well, older brother you ain't gonna have all your secrets for your weddin' night."

"What are you talking about?"

"Well, I am assuming that you plan on marrying up with that little gal. She's a good one."

"We haven't even kissed yet, but yes, if I was going to marry anyone, she would be my choice. What secrets?"

"She's a right curious one. She's been checking you out. I think she got a real good look when you decided to stand up."

"You could have told me she was there."

"I didn't know you was gonna stand up."

"This tub is too small."

"That may be, but it was your choice to stand up and give her a good look at your, um, assets. Good thing you didn't turn around. She woulda seen all your secrets."

Joe had been giggling and when Hoss said that he began to cackle far more loudly. "Yeah, Hoss, she woulda been so scared then, I don't think she would have ever have married him then."

Adam had an angry retort ready, but Hoss dumped a bucket of water over his head to rinse him down shutting off his comment. At the same time, Hoss told Joe to leave saying they didn't need any arguments on this day that was supposed to cheer Adam up not make him mad.

"While you're at it, get one of those sheets she took off the bed and a chair from the office so that she can trim his hair. Once that's done, we can eat, and I'm hungry."

"You're always hungry."

"No, I ain't always hungry, but I can always eat. But sometimes I get hungry, and right now I'm hungry so move that skinny butt of yours along. Us men got to eat soon."

The exchange broke the tension. Joe left to do as Hoss asked. Adam dried himself and pulled on clean pants and socks before pulling on his boots. He told Hoss he hadn't felt that good since before the drought which was the last time he had a bath. He didn't put on his shirt but carried it to the front of the office where Joe had set a chair and had a sheet ready to drape around him. Charity saw him and her cheeks flamed red again at the sight of his bare chest. Ben had a fair idea then why she had been rosy cheeked earlier. He smiled and asked if she would rather that he cut his son's hair.

"No, I can do it, I think. I cut Todd's hair all the time. Although somehow this just isn't the same thing."

Adam sat and rested his arms on the back of the chair waiting with a grin for Charity to cut his hair. She had a feeling that he knew what she had done, but he said nothing. Her hands were shaking a little when she first moved to cut some hair. He talked then.

"Cut a little until you calm down. Once you get started, it should get easier. Take it slow until you feel more sure of yourself. All right?"

"Thank you. I am a little nervous." She was grateful that Adam said nothing at that point and his brothers stayed quiet too. He was right. After she snipped a few locks in the back, she gained her confidence and began to approach it as the task that it was. Soon she was busy cutting his hair as if he were Todd although she couldn't forget he was Adam. She could smell the soap but there was also the strong scent of him and the warmth of him only inches from her as she worked. She did her best to block that out and finished the haircut without making any awful mistakes. She pulled the sheet from him and stared at his chest as he stood. She heard Joe snickering when she did so, but Adam was gentlemanly taking his shirt when Hoss offered it.

"Let's go have a picnic now."

The afternoon passed very pleasantly and Adam hated to see it end. When they were all ready to go, he held Charity's hand and asked if she could come by again the following Sunday if the weather was nice. As she turned to walk to the wagon, he whispered one thing that made her blush.

"And I hope you liked my ass …ets."

She refused to turn and look at him. Ben saw his grin and her red cheeks. He guessed that Hoss and Joe would let him know the inside joke once they got home. He wasn't disappointed.

Chapter 6

Sunday afternoon had left Adam feeling rather good about things. His father had said he was like the phoenix rising from the ashes. Charity had likened him to Perseus and Adam had said that made his father Zeus. They had chuckled about that. Monday morning all of that came crashing down with a furious Morris Mann who arrived at about ten in the morning with the production reports.

"Less than half! Last month was less than half the month before which was the lowest in a year. You were supposed to be the big shot smart engineer everybody bragged about. You were supposed to be so smart. You are a dismal failure."

"No one has died since I came to work here. There have been no collapses and no cave-ins since I got the new shoring system installed."

"I don't give a damn about that. Who cares if no one died. This mine isn't making money. That's what matters. Do you think these men care about one or two dying if they get to keep working? If I lose money and shut this mine down, they don't have jobs. They can't support their families. You are trying to ruin everyone. You'll be lucky if they don't knock a tunnel down on your head when they find out what you've done."

"Besides teaching the men how to properly install shoring so the tunnels stay open, I've had to take time training men to be more efficient with their blasting. I've had to train men on how to lay rail so that they're level and the ore cars don't fall off the tracks. The mine will make more money now. You have to give it time. You can't make money without investing money. Your mine will be more productive now. Can't you give it some time?"

"No, but you can. You're going to give it all of your time. I want you to start on that new tunnel today. I want you in there when the first shift reports for work every day and I want you in there when the second shift finishes for the day. I want you directing every damn minute of every crew that's working until that tunnel is open and producing ore and my mine is making money again."

"We don't have materials yet for the new tunnel."

"You just get to work on it. I'll order materials."

"I already ordered materials. They just aren't here yet."

"You what? How dare you take that upon yourself?"

"You put me in charge of the tunnel and the expansion. The companies to whom I gave the orders said that was enough. They'll bill the Mann Mine for everything. Your name is on the orders."

"I'll have you charged with fraud."

"I think if you look up the definition of that, it won't fly. I was acting in good faith on your behalf getting nothing that benefited me in any way and does benefit you."

"You made yourself an enemy today, Cartwright. You heard the orders I gave you. If you do anything less, you're in breach of contract and owe me ten thousand dollars. You signed on here to work for me for six months to get the money to pay the taxes on the Ponderosa so your family wouldn't lose the ranch. Well we know they don't have the money to bail you out if you have to pay ten thousand dollars back to me. How about that? You work sixteen hours a day or pay me back the money I gave you to work for me. I'll have you within the month. No man can do it, not even you. Look at you. You're looking like a scarecrow and you've only been working ten-hour days for less than a couple of months. I'll get my money's worth out of you one way or another or you'll die trying."

Furious and frustrated, there was nothing more that Adam could do or say. He had done what he could do and said what he could say. It was Scylla and Charybdis again. Sacrifice some or sacrifice it all. There was no good solution that he could see. The Toad could see it too. He smirked and Adam couldn't resist thinking about him using that tongue to catch flies. He actually smiled a little. That unnerved Mann just a little, and being unnerved made him even angrier. He had one more card to play.

"There will be no more visitors here. I'm hiring a guard to be at the gate and only employees will be allowed on the premises. Anyone else is a trespasser and could be shot."

Mann's smirk was as broad as he could make it then. He strode away as well as he could on his stumpy legs with his pudgy body. Adam refused to be defeated, but he knew he had lost that round. He watched as Mann drove away before he turned to enter the mine. As he entered, there was a group of miners spread across the wide opening of the main entrance. It was clear that they had probably heard the whole exchange. Adam braced himself for what was to come. If they feared losing their jobs because of him, then he thought that the physical harassment he had already suffered might be about to get a lot worse. One of the men stepped forward.

"Is what he said out there true? You signed on here to save your family's ranch?"

"It's true."

"You have to work here for six months or give him that money back?"

"Yes, and then my family could lose the ranch anyway unless they could come up with the money some other way."

"I thought your family was rich."

"We're rich in land and cattle, but we have to work every day just like you. When the drought hit, we couldn't make enough money to pay our hands and pay our bills. We couldn't pay our taxes. I took this job because of that. It was the only way we could get the money to save the ranch. My father didn't want me to work for the Toad."

"The Toad?"

"My lady friend started calling him that because of how he wets his lips when he's nervous. He's also rather lumpy."

"I like that. We'll call him the Toad. It'll give us something to get back at him without some of the other words we usually call him, well, and you too until we heard the whole story. By the way, sorry about dropping that rock on your foot the other day. I had no idea you were trying to help us. I thought it was Mann's plan. I heard him out there. You did all that without him knowing. Does he know about them sump shafts?" Adam shrugged. "I don't suppose you figured out a way to give us some air shafts without him knowing, didja?"

"I would if I could see a way to camouflage them until they were done. He comes in every Sunday morning though to inspect the mine. An open shaft above his head would be rather obvious, I think."

"Listen, you work on that idea, and we'll work on finding a way for you to get some sleep and for your lady friend to be able to see you. I know he means to keep you two apart, but there are ways around that ifn ya got help, and help ya got now. All right, Boss, what's the next job you want us to do?" The men nodded. They were ready to follow the leader they had.

"Let's finish the sump shafts. If we do some blasting and water comes in, I want it to have some place to go. Meanwhile, keep the men moving the ore that is ready to be moved. We can keep the regular output moving as long as there's no blasting until we're ready."

"Listen, it may take us a bit until we get a chance to tell all the men what we heard, and not all are gonna want to believe it right away. You just take it real careful like and if one of us tells you to back off and we'll handle something, you need to trust us, all right?"

"All right if you can give me the same trust. I'm trying my best here."

"You know, I think you are. All right, it's a deal. Let's see how we can do our best for everybody here even if it ends up making money for the Toad as long as nobody gets hurt and nobody dies and we all get to keep our jobs that we need."

"Yes, that's the plan then. It sounds so simple, but it may be hard to deliver all of that."

"Well, we'll do our best. Nobody can expect more than that."

True to their word, the men did their best. They found ways to get Adam a chance to take breaks in the tunnel. Unfortunately sleeping amidst fifty men working with picks, shovels, ore cars, and various other implements moving tons of rock made for a very difficult environment in which to get any rest, but all of them knew that the guard at the gate was also reporting on Adam's movements to Mann. If he headed to the office too much and if there was too much inactivity there, Mann would be back to berate him and possibly take action against him. He got up to six hours in his bed at night but no more dropping into his bed often after midnight and usually roused to return to work by five. An early night was to get into bed by eleven. When that first Sunday afternoon arrived, Mann left at noon furious after finding the sump shafts but mollified somewhat to find that the new tunnel was started and the new track for the ore cars was being laid. In addition, he now was asking for weekly reports on production. He promised Adam that he would be back on Monday with that report in hand. Adam waited outside his office after Mann left until he saw a man talking to the guard at the gate. It was the distraction he had been told to watch for and he headed behind the office when he saw it. Charity showed up there a moment later slightly disheveled but smiling.

"I kind of like this sneaking around. It makes me feel like I'm younger again and playing games."

"It's dangerous though. The guard has been told to shoot trespassers."

"Hoss and Joe are both out there to make sure that doesn't happen. I brought a small lunch for us. Hoss will deliver a bigger basket to the gate later as the second distraction so that I can leave the same way I got in. Joe will keep watch the whole time."

"Will you thank them for me, please? This was very nice of them to do."

"Yes, I thought so. I'm glad you think so too. Now what would you like to do?"

"I'd like to have lunch. I'm starving. And then, remember how we sat at that cabin after I rescued you from the kidnappers. I'd like to sit like that with you and talk. I'd like to hold you close and have your head on my shoulder and have your hair so close I can lean down and smell it and touch it."

"Did you do that that night?"

"No, I didn't but I wanted to very much. I was afraid to do anything like that but now I think you wouldn't be afraid if I touched you."

"No, I wouldn't. I would like that very much."

That's what they did then. First they had lunch and Charity chatted about what was happening in their two families. Virginia was very close to having her baby. Then they settled into a close embrace and talked. As they talked, they were getting very close and eventually Adam leaned down very so that his face was next to Charity's. He caressed her cheek and she felt his breath on her lips. With her eyes closed, she was ready for their first kiss when they both heard Hoss calling for Adam. It was the signal that it was time for Charity to leave. Both scrambled to their feet very disappointed that their time was over especially at that point. For a moment, Adam had been able to forget where he was and the circumstances that had him trapped. He had lost himself in the feeling of loving a woman and had been about to declare it and kiss her. Now that moment was lost. It would have to wait. He bid her a rapid farewell and hurried toward the front gate to greet Hoss and get the basket of food and other items his brother had brought for him while Charity slipped away to the break in the fence the men had made for her. It would be two more weeks before Adam and Charity saw each other again and it would be under drastically different circumstances.

As Hoss drove the carriage a quarter mile down the road and picked up Charity, he was concerned because her eyes were glistening with tears. He waited until they were well down the road but then his concern was more than he could ignore so he had to ask.

"Didn't it go well, I mean, your time with Adam? He's all right, isn't he?"

Charity leaned into Hoss then and began to cry. Hoss stopped the carriage and wrapped an arm around her to try to soothe her. Joe had been riding ahead of them but rode back to see what was wrong.

"I don't know, Joe, she just up and started crying. I asked her if things went all right and if Adam was all right, but she ain't answered me yet."

Sitting up and rubbing one eye and then the other, Charity took a deep breath and then apologized for the tears. "It's just so hard seeing him like that. I know he got himself into that mess, but he's so down, and I wanted to be able to stay there with him and help him. When Hoss called out and I had to leave, he looked so sad, it made me want to cry, and then Hoss was so sweet, and then, well, I couldn't stop myself."

"Hoss, she's right. We should find a way to get him out of there. He shouldn't be in there like a prisoner. Maybe Hiram can do something about that at least."

"Pa already talked to him. Adam signed on to work for six months and he didn't specify days off and such. He made assumptions he should not of made. He made a big mistake."

"So he wanted that money so much to prove a point to Pa and save the Ponderosa that he forgot to do the most important stuff which is watch out for yourself?"

"That's about it. Now we can keep trying to help him as much as we can. Pa's looking into some things but unless we can come up with ten thousand dollars, we can't buy off his contract or let him fight it."

"It's getting close to two months. Maybe we wouldn't need the whole ten thousand."

"Maybe not but right now we don't have five thousand even. We will in a month or so, but right now we don't."

"So maybe we could offer to buy out the last three months of the contract. Maybe Mann would go for that."

"You know, Joe, that's something to try at least. It would give Adam a lot easier time to think about if he only had one month left instead of four."

The three of them rode on in a more hopeful mood then with Hoss and Joe planning to ask their father to see if he and Hiram might approach Mann with that proposal. They would be willing to make sacrifices if it meant getting Adam out of the fix he was in.

Chapter 7

On Monday morning, Mann was back. He again blasted Adam with the production numbers. They were higher than they had been, but he still wasn't happy. Even though they had started the new tunnel, there wasn't much ore coming from there yet, and so the quality of the ore had not yet improved significantly although it was better and Mann did get more money from the production. He didn't let Adam know that preferring to try to badger him into working even harder if he could. He had devised a new plan in his mind. He would work Adam until the man was so exhausted he could work no more and was forced to quit. That would put him in breach of contract so that Mann could sue him for ten thousand dollars as well as the wages he had already paid him. Then if that put his family in financial straits, he might be able to grab the mine they owned and perhaps more land from them for the ten thousand dollars. He would come out so far ahead that way that he would be much wealthier than if he simply let Adam complete his contract. He was patting himself on the back for that when Hiram Wood met him at his office in town with an offer from Ben Cartwright. Mann listened before laughing in the lawyer's face.

"They're getting desperate, are they? Well, they better come up with the whole ten thousand if they want him out of that contract. I won't let him go for one cent less than that, and you know that I'm well within my legal rights to ask for that. Until he fulfills the contract, he owes me that much. Six months or ten thousand dollars is the deal, take it or leave it."

"Your reputation in this town is not very good. When word of this gets around, it will be even lower. Do you want that?"

"Are you blackmailing me, mister lawyer?"

"That's not blackmail. I'm simply stating facts. The Cartwrights are going to tell people the truth and people are going to believe them. When the story comes out and it will, you're going to look very bad. The Cartwrights are admired around here. People wondered why Adam took that job and slowly the story is coming out. He was foolish to trust you to be a decent man, but he took the job in good faith to help his family. They in turn did their best then to help other ranchers. A lot of people owe a lot to his sacrifice. They won't take kindly to the man who keeps making him suffer for it."

"Get out of my office. You don't get to come in here and insult me. I'm an important man in this community. Get out."

Hiram stood, picked up his hat, placed it carefully on his head, and looked down at Morris Mann who sat with his florid face in a sneer behind his desk. "The offer stands. You would do well to reconsider. You know where my office is should you decide to be reasonable and logical. It would be in your best interest."

Returning to his office, Hiram knew that Ben was going to be disappointed. They had already discussed the difficulties of raising five thousand dollars in the current economic climate. Ten thousand was still going to be out of reach. Adam had to manage to survive working for the Toad a bit longer. Hiram smiled a bit at that. Ben had shared the term that Charity used to describe Morris Mann. It suited him so well that Hiram thought of him now as that. He wondered how long it would be before everyone in town began referring to the man as the Toad. When Mann found out, he was going to be furious, but it was one of those things that couldn't be blamed on any one person and there was nothing he would be able to do about it. Secretly, Hiram hoped that the schoolchildren made up a song about the Toad and used it for one of their games so that they would be singing it in the streets. It might help drive the man away from Virginia City, and the place would be so much better off without him.

At the mine, Adam continued to work closely with the men on both shifts. He was teaching them blasting techniques that allowed them to use a lot less explosive to achieve the desired result. It was safer for them and cheaper for the mine operation so everyone won. He had already trained many of the men on proper shoring techniques so the next step was finding men who do a good job of seeing how the vein ran in the rock so that the tunnel would follow the natural vein. He set men who lacked talent in any of those areas at task such as clearing the rock from the sump shafts and leveling the floor for the rails for the ore cars. He was doing his best to organize the crews by skills and getting a natural leader in charge of each. One man on the first shift, Eric, who had been the spokesman when the men had first approached him in a cooperative spirit was becoming invaluable in the operation of the mine.

"Eric, he ought to make you a foreman."

"He doesn't have any foremen. He doesn't want to pay anyone any more money. He tells everyone what to do and everyone works to get the ore out."

"It was a very inefficient operation the way it was being run."

"It was."

"It was a dangerous operation too."

"It was."

"Why did you work here?"

"Most of us had never worked in a mine 'til we got here. We had no skills. You show up at one of the other mines and they ask you questions using all them mining terms and you look like you been poleaxed, well, you don't get hired. We needed jobs. Nobody who knew what they were doing worked here so he hired anybody who showed up. Course he paid us the lowest wages he could too but we were desperate."

"Maybe by the time we're done here, you can get a better job at better wages."

"That's a nice dream. For now, I'm happy that I can know I'm going home at the end of each day in one piece and walking on my own two legs."

"Eric, at some point, you should start thinking bigger. You have more to offer than that."

"Would you help me? I trust you."

"I would be glad to help you. Now let's see about getting the rest of the work done here. If we can get this mine producing efficiently and profitably, it will be a good recommendation for you and for the others here to get jobs elsewhere."

"Do you think the Toad knows that?"

"Probably not. There's so much about running a business that he doesn't know that I'm surprised he isn't bankrupt already. It's coming though. I have a feeling in my gut, and my brother Hoss always tells me to trust those feelings."

"Good! I'd like to see the Toad brought down."

There was a tremor then and both Adam and Eric paused and looked around them. The men there did too wondering if the tunnel was about to collapse despite Adam's assurances that the honeycomb system would withstand anything short of an earthquake.

"I thought you said the shoring we put in like you said would stop those."

"That had nothing to do with the shoring, Eric. That was a minor earthquake. I'm hoping that is all there is going to be but we should evacuate the mine to be safe."

Once Adam and Eric were sure that all the men had left the various tunnels, they followed the last men out. Once clear of the main entrance, they could hear the warning bells and whistles from the other mines. Apparently all were being evacuated. They could only hope that none had suffered a collapse. They waited an hour and were about to venture back inside when Mann drove his carriage into the yard at breakneck speed. His fury seemed far out of proportion to what had happened. He ordered everyone back to work, and because they were going back to work anyway, that was quickly accomplished. Mann seemed frustrated by that and snapped the reins and drove away as fast as he had arrived. It was the next shift before Adam found out why he was so upset. The girls in town had developed a song about Mister Toad and used it to jump rope. Apparently Mann had found out that his nickname in town now was Mister Toad. Because he reacted so furiously to it, some of the boys liked to run by and taunt him with it only to see his red face and his fist shaking after them as they ran away laughing. Mann had tried complaining to Sheriff Roy Coffee.

"Now you say these boys yell 'Mister Toad, Mister Toad' and run away laughing, and you want me to catch them and punish them. Now your name ain't Mister Toad, is it? Cause unless it is, they aren't harassing you nor are they disturbing the peace unless this here Mister Toad comes in here and makes a complaint against them, but as I see it, they are being respectful. They are saying Mister. Now if boys run by me and was to say 'Mister Coffee, Mister Coffee' or 'Sheriff Coffee, Sheriff Coffee', I wouldn't be upset at all."

"But, but . . ."

"Yes, is there something else you want to add to what you told me?"

Red-faced with indignation and frustration, Mann had stormed out of Roy's office. Deputy Clem Foster had turned to Roy.

"I guess the Toad didn't want to admit that half the town calls him Mister Toad."

"Yep, I wanted him to stand there in front of my desk and admit to me that he was Mister Toad. Now that would have made a good story. He wouldn't do it though. It's not much of a story telling that he came in to complain that the boys are calling him Mister Toad, but it will do. Anything that gets people laughing at him helps the cause. Ben's plan may work yet. Maybe they will be able to buy him out if he gets upset enough."

"Ben has enough money to do that but doesn't have enough to buy out Adam's contract?"

"No, he doesn't have the money, but he's gotten quite a few of the other mine owners and investors in a group who are willing to buy the Mann Mine if Mann is willing to sell. Ben will only have a small fraction of ownership, but now that Adam is helping to develop the mine, more people are interested in it as an investment."

"So the plan is to make life unpleasant enough for Mann here that he wants to sell it?"

"It was the only idea that anyone could think of to get Adam out of there. Ben doesn't have enough to buy that contract because Mann wants the full ten thousand."

"From the looks of him a minute ago, it's starting to work."

"The real question is whether it can work fast enough to help out Adam. Ben says that it's been real hard on him working for Mann who's been pushing him so hard he doesn't have time to sleep or eat proper. Ben's afraid he's gonna get sick. Meanwhile, we'll have to see what other kind of pressure it takes to get Mann to consider the offer that's gonna be made."

Ben's fear was starting to come true. Eric noticed that Adam seemed to be coughing more and more and not only from the dust when there was a blast. He coughed frequently and no longer seemed to be able to take the naps they tried to give him because he woke up coughing almost as soon as he tried to lay down.

"You're sick. You need to be in bed."

"Until I'm sick enough that it can't be denied, I don't dare try that. Mann is too intent on going after me. I'll be fine. Tomorrow is Saturday and I get to quit early. I'll get some sleep, and then on Sunday, there's only the inspection. I should be able to get out of here finally on Sunday afternoon. The new tunnel is well underway and there are no drawings to be done. There's nothing for him to have me do on Sunday. Getting out of here will help."

"That it will. All right. Why don't you head out to the main entrance. There isn't much going on there. Maybe you can find a place to rest where you can lean back against the wall."

That was a good idea and got somewhat of a respite for Adam, but by Saturday he was worse as was the weather which was foggy and damp exacerbating his cough. By Sunday, it was raining. He didn't wake until Mann was in the office hollering for him to get his lazy bones out of bed. He struggled to rise and knew he had a fever too. He got dressed and pulled on a slicker walking with Mann who was complaining as usual. His schedule was off by ten minutes because he had to wait for Adam to dress. In the mine, the inspection went quickly. There wasn't much new to look at except the new tunnel being excavated and the veins of silver that were being exposed. It was clear that they were richer than the ore that had been taken from the mine earlier. Mann should have been pleased, but as he looked around, he realized that there was less work for Adam to do so he wasn't going to be able to exhaust him as quickly as he had hoped. He needed more work for the man to do. He had a wicked thought then.

"You wanted ventilation shafts. Now would be a good time to put those in, wouldn't it. The other projects are done, and the new tunnel is exposing much more underground area. You could measure outside today and draw up the plans so the men could start on those tomorrow. Yes, that's a good plan. The men need those ventilation shafts. See to it."

With a self-satisfied smirk, Mann left a shocked and dismayed Adam behind. Not only would he not be able to leave, but with the rain, he wouldn't get any visitors either. He would have to work in the foul weather while he was sick instead of getting some rest which he desperately needed. He didn't see a way out of this dilemma either. He looked out at the clouds and fog and complained to them because there was no one else who could listen.

"Damn, it's Scylla and Charybdis again. It seems that I am destined to sail between them sacrificing some or all."

After scrabbling across the mountainside for most of the afternoon, Adam was wet, cold, and exhausted. He dragged himself into his office and stripped off his clothing shivering as he did so and dried off as well as he could before pulling on clean dry clothing. He was coughing more frequently and shivering as well. He stuffed kindling into the stove and got it going as hot as he could but still shivered. He wrapped a blanket around himself, sat at the table, and using his rough calculations, he began the drawings for ventilation shafts. He didn't know when he did it, but at some point he must have put his head down. He awakened to a dark and cool office. He was cold again, and had to restart the stove. He made a pot of coffee and went back to work not realizing it was after midnight. When he saw light, he realized that dawn was near and that his work day was about to begin. He hadn't been to bed yet. He didn't know how he was going to survive the week.

The first few days of the week were terrible for Adam. On the third day, Eric came up with an ingenious plan. A group of men went with Adam to his office at the start of the work day. They walked out with plans in hand talking about the papers that each was carrying. One of them had switched clothing with Adam who was finally in his bed where Eric told him to stay for the next twenty-four hours. They had started the stove so that the building would remain warm. Every few hours, the man pretending to be Adam would return to the office to put wood in the stove but carry out papers making it look as if that was the reason for the trip. They would have someone else on the second shift do the same so that Adam could finally get some rest he so desperately needed. They used the same ruse on and off for the next three days. By the end of the workday on Saturday, Adam was feeling better. Mann's predictability had helped them out. He showed up on Sunday for an inspection and on Mondays with production numbers. Otherwise unless something unusual happened, he didn't visit his mine leaving it in Adam's capable hands.

On Sunday morning, Charity was sitting with the Cartwrights which had become a habit on Sunday mornings. It seemed to make all of them feel better to be together. However when it seemed like giant fists started hitting the side of the building and Bibles and other items fell to the floor, all they felt was panic. They all knew where Adam probably was at that moment and they knew, as everyone in town knew, an earthquake like this could collapse a mine. People rushed from the buildings in town to stand in the street waiting for the tremors to pass. They did rather quickly as the earthquake had been relatively mild in its impact on surface buildings. However for wood trying to hold back tons of rock underground, it was an entirely different matter. Ben rushed for the carriage with Charity as Hoss and Joe raced for their horses. They rode as rapidly for the mine as they could assuming that Ben and Charity would get there as quickly as they could. When they got to the mine, a number of miners were arriving too. Joe wanted to rush into the mine, but Hoss held him back.

"Let the men who know what they're doing go first. They know their way around in there. We could get in the way and slow them down. I know how you feel, but we got to wait."

A short time later, Mann stumbled from the mine with a lantern in hand. The men asked him where Adam was but he said nothing so they ignored him and moved in to the mine to look. When Ben got there, he moved to Mann and demanded to know where Adam was.

"I don't know. We got separated. I couldn't hear him and I couldn't see him with all the dust and everything. I got out of there before it got worse."

"You have a lantern. Did he have one?"

"I don't know. He isn't my responsibility."

Ben was about to press his point when Hoss yelled to him. The men were helping Adam from the mine. He was coughing and had a bloody gash in his scalp. Ben and Charity rushed to his side as did Hoss and Joe. Mann backed away but couldn't leave because his carriage was hemmed in by all the other carriages and wagons that had arrived once people heard that the two men had likely been in the mine when the quake hit. Even Hiram Wood and Sheriff Coffee were there because it was Adam who had been in the mine. Ben knelt at his son's side as the men who helped him out let him slide down to rest against a stack of timbers. Charity pulled out a handkerchief to apply pressure to the cut on his head.

"Son, what happened?"

"I started coughing with all the dust, and asked Mann to help me. Instead, he shoved me into the tunnel wall and took off with the lantern. I couldn't see where I was and I was trying to find my way out by feel when the men found me."

Hiram and Roy were very interested in Adam's statement. Hiram bent down and asked Adam a question. Then he spoke very quietly. "Adam, no matter what you hear in the next few minutes, don't say anything unless I ask you a question. I think we're going to get you out of this mess, but you have to trust me. Do you trust me?"

Adam was going to nod and thought better of it and gave a simple affirmative answer instead. Hiram smiled and looked at Roy.

"I think you have some idea what I'm going to do. Please don't say too much."

"You have the floor, counselor. I'll just stand back here and look angry."

"Thank you for your trust. Ben, I need yours too. Like Adam, I need you to be quiet and let me handle this." Ben nodded, and Hiram turned to look at Morris Mann. "Mister Mann, Adam has informed me that you slammed him into a wall, took the lantern, and left him to die in that tunnel during an earthquake. I have so informed Sheriff Coffee. Adam will be pressing assault and attempted murder charges against you. Sheriff Coffee, will you place this man under arrest on those charges that my client wishes to file?"

Before Roy could say anything, Mann started to try to defend himself. "It was an accident. He was coughing and he fell into the wall."

"I don't think a jury is going to believe that. That gash is rather severe for an accidental fall. You left him too. If it was an accident, why would you abandon him to die?"

"Now, there must be a way to settle this some other way. I didn't mean to hurt him. I panicked. That's all it was."

Leaning down to Adam and Ben and acting as if he was consulting with them, Hiram instead told them he was going for the kill. Then he stood and faced Mann. "Perhaps, if you released Adam from his contract so he could recover at home, and if you paid him the wages he would have earned for the remainder of the contract that he can no longer fulfill, he might let it go."

"Might let it go. That's robbery! That's blackmail! Sheriff, are you going to let them do this to me?"

Hiram looked to Roy then and nodded. "Go ahead and answer him Roy. I think the law is clear on this issue."

"Yes, it sure is. Now see here, Mann. You was the one who asked if there was some other way to settle this. All that Mister Wood was doing there was answering the question you yourself asked. You already admitted guilt right here in front of all these people. You said you didn't mean to hurt him but you panicked. Now that says you did it. By the law, that's an admission of guilt. Now you can pay the price for the crime you committed or you can go with the answer to the question you asked. The choice is yours."

"All right, all right. I'll release him from his contract, and I'll pay him the balance of his wages. It's highway robbery, but it seems I have no choice. I've been backed into a corner."

Smiling, Charity helped Adam to stand and then she and Ben walked with him to the carriage. Hoss and Joe went to the office to get his things. Within fifteen minutes, they were on their way. Adam was free of Mann who stood and watched everyone leave. He had no more ideas. Everything he had tried to do had failed except that his mine was in better shape than it had ever been and was producing higher quality ore than it ever had. He had to smile a little bit about that. His workers were also better trained and better organized. Now all he had to do was find another engineer to run the place.

Chapter 8

Leaning against the side of the carriage, Adam relaxed fully for the first time in months. He had made mistakes, but trusting the right people had let him escape the worst of the consequences of his foolish action. Even with the headache he had, he was impressed with Hiram's quick thinking. With all those witnesses to hear what Mann had said, there was no possible way for him to renege on what he had said. He was free of the Toad and had some money coming to him as well. He smiled as he thought about it. Charity noticed and asked him why he was smiling.

"Well, I could say it's because you're beside me which is reason enough to smile. I could say it's because I'm going home which is another great reason to smile. But, I smiled because for one more time I was thinking of the Toad and that reminded me of you and the name you gave him and the sense of humor you have and that made me smile."

"Do you think we should stop at the doctor's office and have him check your head?"

"No, it stopped bleeding already. I have a headache but it's not bad. Some time in bed and I'll be fine." He would have said more but his father was right there. Charity saw the wicked gleam in his eye though and shook her head. His spirit was strong. Once they were at the Ponderosa, Hop Sing fussed over him as if he was a child. Charity was amazed at how he tolerated it, but after Hop Sing returned to the kitchen, Adam whispered to her.

"I have to let him show me how much he cares. He's like my other father.

"A lot of people care about you very much. I hope you know that."

"I do. I know that I needed a lot of people to help me and they did. You especially helped me. When you said you trusted me right from the start, that was very important to me. You stood by me the whole way."

The two of them might have had a chance to speak more but Hoss and Joe came in the house after taking care of the horses. They were excited. They wanted to have a party because Adam had missed the dance, and they wanted to celebrate the whole thing.

"Ya, Pa, the ranch got saved, Adam got saved, and nobody died in the earthquake, and well, everything is just turning out so well, it's time for a party. Dontcha think so?"

Looking at Hoss and Joe who were so excited, Ben turned to Adam and Charity. "Is it all right with you two. Do you feel up to a party, Adam?"

"I think I would like a party. Would next Saturday be too soon?"

"No, I think next Saturday would work out just fine. Let's do it. We haven't had a party in a long time. Everyone needs to have one. We'll have a party next Saturday."

Adam smiled and reached for Charity's hand. If all went well, there might be an even bigger reason for the party. He had some plans for the week. First though he thought he probably needed to lie down. The room was beginning to spin a bit. His father must have noticed something because he heard his voice and then he was at his side helping him to the settee to lie down.

"Pa, how did you know he was gonna pass out?"

"Years of experience. He always pushes himself right to the limit. I saw him start to sway a bit and then he looked a bit pale."

Ben had rushed to his side then before he could topple from the chair. Charity had helped stop him from falling but it had taken Hoss and Ben to lift him from the chair and lay him on the settee. Joe got a blanket from the guest bedroom and they covered him as Ben pulled off his boots.

"Charity, Hoss should probably give you a ride home now. My guess is that he's going to sleep for a long time. He's exhausted. Please come back tomorrow for lunch. By then, he should be feeling better."

"Thank you, Mister Cartwright. I would be pleased to come back for lunch."

Just as Hop Sing was ready to serve lunch, Charity was finally back the next day. Joe had teased Adam frequently that morning as he seemed to be stirring at every sound outside waiting for Charity to walk through that front door. When she finally did, the whole family saw how it made Adam's whole countenance brighten. Hoss was next to his father and nudged his elbow. Ben looked at him and couldn't help smiling at the silly expression Hoss made as he indicated the two who had fallen in love. Adam took Charity's hand and escorted her to the table to sit beside him.

"I'm sorry that I was almost late. Virginia had the baby last night. It's a little girl. They named her Victoria. She doesn't look big enough for a name that big, but I suppose she'll grow into it."

The rest of the mealtime was spent talking about the baby, and then time was spent talking about the Toad and what they might do about him. Adam and Ben planned to go to town the next day to see about getting everything settled legally. Charity looked disappointed, but felt better when Adam asked if she would like to go to town with him on Wednesday to visit with some of the men who had helped him. She did so things were definitely looking up. Then lunch was over, and Adam used the opportunity to ask Charity to go for a walk. She agreed, but at the two of them walked out the front door together, Adam could hear his brothers snickering in the background because they guessed what he might like a little privacy to do. He didn't mind too much. They were right.

As Adam walked out of the house with Charity, he turned her to the right and over by a tree next to the house. He stopped there and wrapped an arm around her to turn her toward him. She leaned into him and wrapped an arm around his waist.

"Yes, Mister Cartwright, was there something important you wanted to say to me that you couldn't say in front of your family?"

"You are a saucy wench."

"There's one way to make me stop talking."

With one hand, Adam touched her face and pulled her closer to him and with his other arm pressed their bodies closer too. He leaned down and softly touched her lips with his and slowly the kiss became more passionate and deeper. Hoss and Little Joe walked by on their way to the stable and saw the couple kissing.

"It's about time."

Joe snickered at Hoss' comment but Adam and Charity ignored both of them. Once the brothers were gone, Adam pulled back. He whispered softly to her. "I love you." Charity said nothing at first. "Of all the reactions I thought you might have, silence was not one of them."

"Oh, Adam, I dreamed for so long that one day you would say those words to me, and yet you said them, and I was struck dumb. I'm sorry. I love you. I can't think of anything you could ever have said to me that would ever have meant as much as those words. I love you. I'll always love you."

"I'm not an easy man to love."

"I know that. I'm not an easy woman to love. That's why we're good together."

"We like a challenge?"

"We're complicated, but we need so much from life. We'll meet those things together though, won't we?"

"Yes, together. Now, tomorrow, Pa and I are going into town to meet with Hiram and try to get all the legal things worked out." Charity was visibly disappointed. "On Wednesday, can you spend the day with me? I know you have to work for Doctor Martin and for Hiram, but perhaps you can take another day off?"

"Yes, they won't mind if it's time to be with you. They know how much it means to both of us. I think they know how much I care for you. Of course the way your family included me in everything was probably a big clue."

"Yes, I'm very grateful to them for that. Now, how about if we take more of a walk. There are all sorts of quiet private places out here where a man and a woman can find a little time to get to know each other."

"And I suppose you know that from experience?"

"Woman, just walk with me."

Grinning though at the cheeky grin she gave him, Adam slipped an arm around Charity's waist and guided her in the direction of the garden behind the house. By the time they returned to the house hours later, they had gotten to know each other much better and were reluctant to end their time together. Ben was on the porch with a cup of coffee so they broke their close embrace when they came around the corner of the house. It didn't matter. He had guessed what he hadn't seen. He also was guessing that Adam was likely to want to make the relationship more formal now that he had broken through his reserve and opened his heart to her. He didn't have long to wait.

On Tuesday, Adam and Ben met with Hiram and got the legal requirements out of the way for Adam to be released from his contract with Mann. Adam didn't want any more direct contact with the man so Hiram handled all the legal work. Money was deposited in Adam's account and that matter was settled. On Wednesday, Adam returned to town with Charity on his arm and visited with men from both shifts spending the greatest amount of time with Eric. By the end of the week, momentous changes were taking place that Adam could only guess at. He had to wait for people to arrive at the party to hear the good news.

The first good news came from Eric when he arrived. "I want to thank you for the opportunity that you and your father have given me. I got the eight men you wanted. They've all agreed to come work at your family's silver mine at the wages you agreed to pay. I picked a foreman and they'll start work on Monday. My wife went shopping already with the signing bonus you gave me for agreeing to be the mine supervisor. She's wearing it tonight. It's the first new dress she's had since we got married and the first one she ever got that was store bought."

"What about the other men?"

"With the recommendations you gave, almost all of 'em got jobs with other mines at higher wages or even double the wages Mann was paying. The men you taught how to do blasting got the best money. I had no idea that there was so much demand for men who knew how to do that safely and well. Now I know why you had me pick the eight you had me hire for your mine."

"Yes, and I'll be there Monday to go through with you what I want done and how I want it done. We'll set up a plan and a schedule. I'll be available to help if you need me."

"I'm glad your father agreed to it."

"It will be a small but steady source of income for the Ponderosa. We won't be a major producer but it will keep producing for a long time. There is gold in there too so even as silver prices fluctuate, the gold will keep the income reasonable."

"Did you hear that Mann had to shut down?"

"I suspected that might happen."

"By Friday morning, he didn't have enough men to operate. He shut her down. He's probably going to have to sell it."

"Someone will make a good deal on that."

"You?"

"If I had the cash, I would, but I don't. I did happen to mention to some people I know that I had seen the quality of the ore that might be taken if someone knew where to go after it."

"He was missing it?"

"He was boring level tunnels. The veins were all showing signs of being at forty-five degree angles. There's probably a lot of rich ore on the floor of the tunnels that are already there. It will be easy to take a lot of rich ore out of there."

"So he'll sell a closed mine that wasn't producing that well and not get that much for it and someone else will come in and make a fortune."

"Yes, someone who pays the workers a better wage, provides ice, and invests in adequate shoring, ventilation, and other safety measures."

"You were careful to tell the right man."

With a smile, Adam told Eric to enjoy the party. Then he moved on to find Charity who was deep in conversation with Eric's wife. He wanted to walk with her before the party got too active and they were unable to spend much time together. When they came back in the house, Adam walked up to his father as Charity went to help the ladies with the refreshment table. Soon she was deep in conversation with her sister Virginia who was holding her new baby. Ben was all smiles the rest of the evening. About eight o'clock, as the band came back from a break, Ben stood on the landing of the stairs and said he had an announcement to make.

"As you know, my son Adam recently endured a very difficult time. He's home now and this party was to celebrate that as much as anything else. We haven't had a party around here for a long time. Charity Keith missed him terribly. We tried to keep her busy, but the three of us weren't enough to keep her mind from Adam. I would like them to have the floor for this next dance, and I would like you to give them a round of applause. They're going to be married. Adam has asked Charity to be his wife, and she has agreed." Applause greeted the announcement along with cheers and whistles from Hoss, Joe, and Todd. Adam and Charity hardly heard them as they glided around the room looking only at each other.

In town, the Toad climbed aboard the late stage and sat heavily on the seat. He couldn't wait to get out of town. He was having his belongings shipped out. He had hired a lawyer to sell his house. He had already accepted an offer for his mine. He needed to get away from this dreadful town and the constant taunts of Mister Toad or the even worse the Toad. He was a mean, spiteful man, but at the moment, he had an object for his hatred but no plan and no means to carry one out anyway. He was thoroughly and utterly defeated.


End file.
